Office automation systems are generally well known, see for example, Japanese Patent Application Nos. A-59127182 and A-5991082 and British Pat. No. 1 444 533. Also known are systems having a memory means for storing coded information and a printer which can print coded information on a sheet of receiving material fed to the printing station of the printer. Typically, these systems include at least one command inputting device for inputting control commands and a control system which respond to commands for carrying out a printing job. The control system usually draws from the memory during the performance of the printing job, the information specified by the first control command and feeds it to the printer for printing. A system of this type is described in European Patent Application No. 61 571.
In the system described in the European application, a number of word processors are connected to a common printer. A printing job can be started from each word processor. If a printing job has to be performed by means of such a system, a number of operations have first to be carried out by the operator at the printer, such as changing the type of paper. In such case, the operator will first have to carry out these operations and then input the order for carrying out the printing job. If the printer is at some distance from the work station, as is not unusual in large office systems, the operator is often required to go back and forth from the work station to the printer.
Requirements for operator attention are annoying at best and substantially reduce the efficiency of the system. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a control means to obviate the need for operator intervention.